Transcendence
by DoodlingPlume
Summary: Canon-divergence. The battle with Father has ended. The Fullmetal Alchemist performs his last act of Alchemy, and the people are sure they witnessed a miracle. Nobody notices that something is tremendously wrong with the blond alchemist. Very slight EdxWin. Loosely connected Vignette-styled One-shot.


**Transcendence**

**.**

A FMA One-Shot

**.**

By DoodlingPlume

The fight has ended.

The thud of Father hitting the ground signals the end of the never ending, bloody conspiracy. Nobody moves for a moment, and apart from the ragged breaths of Edward Elric, the battlefield is silent.

Then, the dam of repressed tensions, emotions and hopes finally breaks, and the soldiers unite to cheer in celebration. Some people shed tears of joy, others sob for the fallen comrades, but all of them find themselves determined to never let something like this happen again. Within their hearts, the beaten and feeble spark of hope roars into life again, and all of them are relieved. They had unknowingly saved the whole world; Not only Amestris, not only Xing, but the world from the clutches of the Homunculi. So the soldiers cheer. Weep. Laugh.

The Fullmetal Alchemist stands there in the middle of all, bruised, bloodied, but smiling.

When the commotion dies down a little, the alchemist proceeds to show the last act of Alchemy as the Fullmetal Alchemist, and the people are sure that they just witnessed a miracle.

Nobody realizes that something drastic had changed within the Fullmetal Alchemist.

.

-xOx-

.

Edward Elric gets an honorable discharge from the military. Without alchemy, he is just as useless as any other civilian in the country. He just accepts the salutes from the soldiers and -dare he say it- his comrades. Fuery, Havoc, Hawkeye and even Mustang seem shaken that their loudmouthed, obnoxious Major will no longer continue with them in their journeys to climb through the ranks.

Ed is no longer a dog of the military. No longer the youngest state alchemist. No longer the Fullmetal Alchemist.

He doesn't know whether to feel relieved or cry.

.  
-xOx-  
.

Life resumes slowly for everybody in Amestris. The nation starts to rebuild itself, and soon, Colonel Roy Mustang is promoted to Brigadier-General. Nobody is surprised at the sudden jump of ranks, and everybody just nods and accepts it as another change in their damaged country.

Progress is slow, but is definitely there. Destroyed buildings, razed shops and towns are minutely rebuilding.

The shattered trust between the Drachanea is also being patched again. Amestris enters into an alliance with Xing, where currently the new emperor Ling also is trying to organize the country. However, without a definite Fuhrer, the treaty is nothing but a formality. Still, the whiff of optimism is present everywhere, and the people of both nations try to make amends.

But under the darkness of the night, people still whisper. There are rumors of spilt blood. Of murder. Of betrayal.

.

-xOx-

.

Life resumes peacefully for the People's Alchemist. Edward returns to Risembool and tries to readjust to the suddenly quiet lifestyle. No rush of adrenaline. No explosions. No unexpected surprises or the metallic tang of spilt blood. It's tranquil. Too peaceful, in fact.

Apart from trying to fix broken things with hammers and nails, there isn't much excitement. Al had left for Central, to volunteer as a civilian alchemist to help rebuild the destroyed city, and Edward gets occasional calls, but nothing else. Winry decided to continue searching for new automails, so she comes and goes.

It is only granny Pinako and Den with him now.

Sometimes, when nobody is watching, Ed claps his hands together and places to the ground.  
As expected, there are no flashes of light or the tingling of alchemic energy running through his veins. He can remember the arrays and equations perfectly, but there is no longer the thrill of energy.

Ed forces out a bitter smile, but sighs in resignation, and heads outside to continue practicing his hammering skills.

.

-xOx-

.

"What is it Ed?"

He just shrugs, trying to massage his right shoulder. At last, satisfied, Edward just gives Winry a wolfish smile.

"Nah. It's nothing. It's just that my automail feels a little bit clunky."

Winry doesn't smile back at his antics.

"Ed... You know you no longer have an automail."

.

-xOx-  
.

When Ed starts to suspect something is wrong, it's too late for him.

He was dropping by Central as a surprise visit to Alphonse, when Ed is cornered by a thug in a secluded alley. Apparently, the thug is a wanted felon for vandalism and assisted homicide, and wants to claim the gold-haired boy in front of him as the 4th victim. Ed isn't worried at all.

So, when both of them go down in a tangle of limbs, snarling, hissing and grinning, there is no one around to stop the fight.

After many minutes, mixed with grunts of pain, loud war-cries and the snapping of bones, Ed comes out as the clear victor. He has a bruised jaw, a fractured rib and a black eye, but has his wolfish smile on, and the thug, mangled in many pieces, whimpers in pain and fear.

They stare at each other, one from above with his molten-gold eyes, and the other from below, with dull, faded blue eyes shaking with terror and pain.

When the silence stretches, the defeated felon immediately stands up, no longer able to take the tension and bolts away, cradling his dislodged shoulder, and limping his right leg.

Edward only grins harder, claps his hands and slams them on the floor to create a barrier of transmuted bricks.

The alchemy equation is clear on his mind's eye, and the surface of the bricks is hard and rugged, with a tinge of dampness because of the moss. His palms ache after slamming them too harshly on the wall, and Ed expects to see the familiar, electric sensations on his body, the tell-tale spark of blue energy crackling in the air–

He is unsure of what happens next. The recoil of power is there, the barrier is formed, and the criminal has no chance of escaping.

Ed falls on top of the man with his fist drawn, like a bird of prey diving to catch a game. The screams of the broken man is abruptly silenced in the dark alley. Nobody bothers to check.

.  
-xOx-

.

Only later, after delivering his final blow to the head of the man, Edward realizes that he has no alchemy, and he cannot have been able to transmute the wall. He looks around just in case, and finds nothing. No wall, no barrier. There is nothing that could have trapped the unconscious criminal in front of him like a cornered rabbit.  
Ed shrugs it off as a trick of his mind after having been pumped by adrenaline after months of lack of the substance in his head.

However, he cannot erase the memory of the surge of power, of energy that surely had to have created _something_.

.

-xOx-

.

The third time something is amiss, Ed is taking Winry out for dinner. Both of them are dressed exquisitely, and Ed blushes and fumbles for some moments, but straightens and holds out a hand at Winry. Both head to the recently built expensive restaurant in the town.

The steak is good and the company excellent. Winry and Ed joke, blush, and smile at each other throughout the night. Their giggles are lost in the sea of soft clinks and the shuffle of plates.

Only in their way home, things start to spiral out of control.

.

-xOx-

.

Winry just points a shaky hand behind him.

"Ed... is- is that?"

Ed suddenly can't move. He feels trapped, constricted and can't breathe

can't breathe cant breathe can't breathe

And slowly, very slowly, Edward turns around stiffly, desperately wishing he still had his alchemy, and looks at _it_.

The unnaturally dark shadow is right behind him, and is spreading outwards, towards him, towards _Winry_.

For a moment, he imagines the god damnable **Gate** and the grinning **Truth** standing in front of him-

_Oh god Alphonse I'm so sorry. Give him back give him back take my leg my arm take anything just give Alphonse back–_

But there is no Gate opening, no Truth openly demanding payment, just the unnatural shadow slowly advancing to him and Winry. He immediately spreads his arms to protect Winry from _that _and-

Ed can feel his breathing hitch, and the shrill scream of Winry is a dull roar in the background. The impossibly dark shadow just tears itself open and soon – _too soon_ – a familiar giant violet eye focuses on him.

.

-xOx-

.

Oh and the pain pain pain

His ports are on fire again, his head is about to explode, he can't contain the hellfire raging within him anymore-

_Al I'm so sorry I'm sorry so sorry I-_

He clutches his right shoulder – _Automail!_ – It is just tearing itself apart again, and soon the fire just expands further into his body-

searing branding marking

...

And I

**Father** I failed you

just want Al

Help me mom

...

.

-xOx-

.

Alphonse Elric doesn't know what to think of the situation. His brother is different. Edward has the same roguish smile, the same golden eyes burning with determination, and the same rude and outspoken mannerisms, but somthing has changed. There is a fleeting predatory gleam in his eyes, a dangerous aura around him and most of all, somehow, his _presence_ changed.

If his brother had been an uncontrollable force of nature tearing through anything that stood before him, he is now the calm before the storm.

Wherever his brother goes, people stop to stare. The observers are unsettled, but have no idea why.

If before, Edward commanded the attention of everyone with his boisterous manners; now he attracts the attention of the people with the unnatural grace and deadly aura he seems to exude. He still explodes when poked fun about his height, he is still stubborn and rude, but now, an edge of lethal calmness surrounds him.

Alphonse doesn't know what to think of this. So he worries silently, but does not bring it out to the surface.

.

-xOx-

.

Edward keeps looking surprised whenever he catches sight of his younger brother restored back into his body, and constantly checks that his precious little brother is still there. Somehow, he feels different. He is sure that he ruined the dinner date with Winry, but cannot remember much. Winry refuses to talk to him.

No, to be exact, he hasn't seen nor heard of Winry after the dinner date, which worries him immensely and makes him feel guilty.

Somehow, he thinks he failed her.

.

-xOx-

.

There are mysterious murders throughout Central. The victims are shredded into pieces, and none of them are identifiable. No evidence, no witnesses, and most of all, no suspects. Dissent and fear starts brewing again in the streets.

The temporary Fuhrer, whose name nobody bothers to remember, tries to assuage the fearful and unhappy grumbles of the people, but he has no success. The military police tries to at least, catch the profile of the murderer but is a work in futility.

Under the darkness of the night, people still whisper. There are rumors of spilled blood. Of murder. Of betrayal.

Of a gold-eyed, deadly beast that can wield the shadows and nightmares and thirsts for blood.

.

-xOx-

.

A/N: Okay. I just found this old fic within the recesses of my fiction files, so I decided to clean it up a bit and upload it here. It was a very rough idea, so I'm not planning to expand it or anything else. It's an oneshot, and if anyone wants to adopt this idea and turn it into a full-fledged multi-chapter fic, let me know and go ahead.

I hope you enjoyed, and drop a review.

Notes:

After the battle, the last impression that Pride had of Ed was of him being bloody, and still having his automail. That's why Pride!Ed keeps thinking he has the automail, or constantly forgets that he has already restored Al's body.

When Ed thinks he is using alchemy, he is tapping into his Pride!power. Of course, he doesn't realize this since whenever he thinks he is using alchemy, his mind is only focused on the battle. We all know that Ed is an alchemical genius, but can be quite tunnel-sighted sometimes.

To summarize, a portion of Pride that survived from the fight embedded itself into Ed and merged with him. The Pride!side of Ed isn't strong enough, and it only follows its basic survival instinct. Kill people and gather souls. That's why there are murders everywhere.

Did Winry die? Well, I'm not sure. Yes. No. Maybe. I don't really care for Winry... so... yeah. Sorry.

If you are still confused, PM me, and I'll answer.

The title means 'surpassing others; preeminent or supreme.' A fitting name for the slogan of the Homonculi, don't you think?


End file.
